Buckinghamshire firm finds a silver lining in Mexico

A High Wycombe firm has fulfilled its first order in the fast-growing Mexican market after attending a Market Visit organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

Founded in 1990, RKM Enterprises produces specialised eco-friendly cleaning products, including a precious metal cleaning range, autocare products and household cleaning products, under the Nushine brand name.

Their first Mexican order, worth £6,000 (for 1,000 units), from Stuller Services in Guadelajara was shipped late last year. Stuller managing director David Medina is interested in becoming RKM’s agent/distributor in Mexico to deal directly with silver manufacturers.

RKM travelled to Mexico to promote products including a silver polish/cleaning solution made to a unique and innovative water-based formula. Company proprietor Nagendra Bhattacharya has a longstanding relationship with UKTI’s South East International Trade Team and International Trade Adviser Angus Murray.

It was Angus who advised Mr Bhattacharya to attend a UKTI event in Slough in February 2011 that brought Heads of Trade and other UKTI staff based in around 50 countries to discuss business opportunities in their markets with South East firms.

Meeting UKTI experts from Mexico City “inspired me to visit Mexico”, Nagendra recalls. “They had really done their homework before our meeting and, knowing we produced silver cleaning products, said ‘you must go to Mexico’.”

Mexico is both a major world producer of silver and a leading manufacturer of silver goods, mainly for its domestic market. Silver holds a special cultural significance for Mexicans – silver jewellery is the norm, and most households own objects and artefacts made from the metal.

“This was new intelligence to me,” said Nagendra, armed with which he commissioned an OMIS (Overseas Market Introduction Service) report on the Mexican market from UKTI staff in Mexico and decided to join the UKTI Market Visit to the country in March.

“The report identified potential customers and distributors for our silver cleaning range and, crucially, advised that we rebrand and re-label our products to modernise their image for the Mexican market and enhance their saleability,” Nagendra added.

UKTI staff pre-arranged seven appointments for RKM with potential clients in Mexico, including a company that produces up to 15,000 items of silver jewellery a day. RKM has since exclusively designed for this company a special jewellery cleaning box made from polypropylene. It contains a silver cleaning plate and all necessary materials, including a soluble sachet of soda crystals, to remove tarnish in a matter of minutes from silver jewellery, without abrasives, plus silver and gold cleaning cloths and an impregnated protective jewellery bag. The Mexican company is evaluating the box for selling through its catalogue business, which has a circulation of 150,000.

As part of the package for companies on the Mexico Market Visit, UKTI provided stand space at the 2011 ANTAD Exhibition in Guadalajara. This is the largest retail and supermarket trade show in Latin America, and a prime vehicle for introducing products to this market, as well as attracting potential North American customers.

“The relabelled products displayed at ANTAD certainly attracted visitors to our stand, including the managing director of leading Mexican chainstore Casa Ley, which has around 300 branches,” said Nagendra. “A Walmart representative was also interested.

“The possibilities for us in Mexico are huge, and I can’t praise Angus Murray and UKTI enough for their support before, during and after the Market Visit , which was superbly and effectively organised.”

Nagendra revisited Mexico in May, and has since appointed an exclusive Mexican distributor.

Mission leader Angus said: “We had a really successful time, helping 18 UK SMEs research the potential in Mexico and find routes to market, in the process breaking down preconceptions about it being a difficult place to trade in. We anticipate that business generated by the visit will be worth £250,000 or more in the first 12 months."

“These early results are vindication of our Market Visit programme, demonstrating the importance for companies like RKM Enterprises of meeting prospective customers and business partners face to face in their own countries. Facilitating this is an essential part of the service that UKTI offers.”

The UKI and Mexico have committed to double bilateral trade to £4.2 billion by 2015. UK exports to Mexico increased by 28 per cent last year.

Nagendra concluded: “Having seen the demand for our products in Mexico, we are now investigating the potential in other Latin American markets with help from UKTI. I have already visited Argentina, Chile and Peru where we‘ve received lots of interest.”

Contacts

If you are based in the South East region and are interested in developing your business overseas please contact:

UKTI South East International Trade Team

Tel: +44 (0)8452 789 600

Email: info@uktisoutheast.com